Chapter 31: feelings part1

"We need to do something about that disobedient character of yours…" Eliot said as paused briefly to examine her facial expression "Don't look at me like that," said Eliot with his eyes narrowed with an unhappy expression, the grin on his face had worn off. Changing positions, he brought his left hands to Zoe's waist and held her close to him in a tight grip, he raised his right hand slowly up to her face but stopped immediately as if deciding something, he let his finger trace the side of her neck playfully.

"Master please don't drink from me… I –I'm not yet ready for the pain" she said pleadingly, looking at his elegant fingers that were much better looking than her own. Master Eliot sure did take care of himself well.

"Do you think I care if you live or die?" Eliot's deadpanned voice came out, a little impatient. Zoe on the other side suddenly felt her stomach dropping where the little color that had appeared on her face left her face hearing him speak.

A slave was usually treated like animals, but pets were treated badly like blood bags and it made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She was in no sense an animal that was supposed to be fed on, "I don't want to die in the hands of a vampire" her heart sunk at the state she was in.

"Alright then. You will be marked not killed," he said which raised an alarm in her mind.

"What? No!" she struggled from his tight grip. Struggling even harder as if it made much difference, she received a dead stare from him.

"You are here where I am therefore making it lucky for you. If we were in another person's house today, you would have been bitten and left dry after the last drop of your blood was taken out of your body. Not all vampires are as nice as me who bothers to give a chance to survive-"

"Let me free then."

Though they weren't outside in the garden, Zoe could feel the chillness that started to creep around them with the mere look Eliot gave her. His eyes turned cold and vacant which made her heart shudder.

"Don't test me, Zoe. I am usually in the worst mood during blood thirst. I am not a patient man, I have the worst patience unless you haven't noticed it," spoke Eliot, his eyes that looked empty.

Zoe didn't know what she said was wrong and though she wanted to voice her opinion, she was scared. Nonetheless, with a huge effort, she tried to speak, "Master Eliot, if you don't want any harm to befall on me you can choose to not take me to the places that are unsafe."

"Would you like to rot in my room? But even the rooms aren't safe. You see, I don't trust people that easily. I have trust issues especially when it comes to pets but I am willing to put my trust in you but not in your safety. Do you understand what I am saying?" he asked staring right at her, "Don't worry. I am not going to mark you with burning hot iron like the slave institution. You either choose to die or you be marked. What's your choice?"

It seemed like Eliot was giving her no choice at all. In the spare seconds of time that passed by, Zoe couldn't help wondering if her possible escape from the mansion this night would work the way she thought it would.

She didn't know what mark Eliot was speaking of. If it weren't for the hot iron how else would he mark her to make it known that she was his pet? Somewhere she had thought in the room that he felt somewhere human but right now it felt as if they had gone back to square one.

Seeing Zoe who was thinking hard on what he said, Eliot could see the internal turmoil in her eyes, "What are you afraid of? Do you not trust me?" his eyes turned to observe her further, her face his eyes the way it dilated, her little heart that was beating in her chest.

"I..." Zoe trailed not knowing what to do. Eliot was expecting an answer from her right now without any delay.

Thinking back on what happened earlier in the banquet, Zoe realized the way Eliot treated her while how the other pet masters and mistresses treated their pets. He was somewhat right. Even though Zoe didn't deserve this life, none of the pets did.

No one deserved any kind of bad lives but life pushed them into it which none of them could help but they had to live with it. Hoping for the ray of light to shine which would lead them to the path of the betterment of life. No pet deserved to be treated the way they were but that was how a pet's life was. To be beaten, to lick their master's boots, to please them and take the insults that were passed down to them. That was a pet's life which none could escape from.

And then when she looked at Eliot, she realized he was much better when compared to the others.

Zoe lowered her eyes, deciding what to pick before she came to say, "I...."

Eliot waited for Zoe to reply back to the two options he had given her, waiting for her to hear her say, "I...I don't know," came out her whispered voice. How would she know what was the right one to pick? Closing her eyes, inhaling softly, she breathed out to say, "You can choose which you feel to be right, I should be dead anyways. Kill me just end it now"

After she said that, Zoe who had not been looking at him previously looked up to see him continue to stare at her. There was something in his expression which she tried to understand, like a little shock at her words which was a mere flicker that came like a blink of an eye to disappear in the very haste.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" questioned Zoe wanting to know what words of her caused the current expression on his face.

"Do you know what you just did?" he asked her. She didn't, "You suddenly turned obedient and are giving the very freedom you have asked for a few seconds ago to give it back in my hands when I so benevolently gave you the options,"

"Master Eliot, I don't know what the marks represent. The only mark I have heard is of the slave branding which makes me unsure as to what this mark is that you speak of," Zoe spoke to him truthfully. Coming from a place where there weren't many vampires but only a lonely shop and madam Elisabeta, she didn't have any idea about the mark which Eliot had said which was understandable in Eliot's eyes, "It might not matter much to the owners but making a person chose between death and a chance of survival is only you reducing the remaining value of the person to nothingness. It is not only lowering the value.

She then felt his hand touch her hair, his fingers gently brushing her hair which at first made her stiffen. Feeling him gather all the hair, she heard him say, "Can you bear the pain for me, " it wasn't a question but a sweet demand as his voice caressed her without even touching her, his voice holding a sweet melody like he was coaxing a child, "Don't open your eyes, hold your hair up" raising her hand, she took hold of her hair which he had bunched together for her to hold. A few pieces of strands came to fall out from her grip.

She felt his hand clipping something light in her ear hole. Zoe could already feel her heart that pounded heavily within her.

She felt something light fall on the side of her neck, where Eliot said, "You can open your eyes now."

Zoe didn't have to be told twice as her eyes snapped open with her hand which was holding her hair dropping down so that she could feel the holes on her neck. But instead of feeling a liquid substance, she felt a thin lotus chain where she finally realized it was an earring, with her hand still touching the chain to feel the flowers along the chain.

Zoe was confused. It was definitely an ear ring but ...why was he making her wear it?

She looked up at Eliot who was now dangerously close to her face, his dark red eyes looking at the lotus chain on her ear and then up at her, to meet her eyes.

Before either of them could speak anything, a loud growl of thunder could be heard, resonating through the glass and the walls as if it was trying to shake the very mansion that stood on the stony hill. Soon the rain started to pour down furiously, cleaning the mansion all over again while the raindrops hit the window panes of Eliot's room.

She held her breath as he stared into her eyes.

With him so close to her face, she could see the swirl of red in his eyes which were prominent. At the same time the darkness it held in a few specks, she saw herself being reflected through his eyes. The smile on his face had vanished, his eyes staring and catching every movement of hers which she was aware of making her queasy but not uncomfortably.

"You dumb kitten. How hard is it for you to figure out?" 'Figure out what?' "I don't know which one to pick out of these two master Eliot..."